| Celebrate an Old-Fashioned Memorial Day
Americans began celebrating Memorial Day after the Civil War. Traditionally, it is a day to honor the war dead and decorate their graves with flowers and flags. Decoration Day is its old-fashioned name. Today, many families have picnics and play. Here are some time-tested ideas to help you celebrate.
Homemade Lemonade
In a pitcher, mix the juice of six lemons with one cup of sugar and eight cups of cold water. Add ice and enjoy.
Red, White and Blue Shortcake
Try this patriotic dessert. Wash and dry one pint each of blueberries and strawberries. Have an adult help you cut the tops off the strawberries and slice them. Mix the fruit with one-half cup of sugar. Spread the mixture over slices of pound cake or shortcakes and top with whipped cream.
Red Rover
Your parents will remember this game. Mark two lines on opposite sides of your yard with rope. Red Rover stands between the lines. The other players stand behind one line. Red Rover calls to one of the players, "Red Rover, Red Rover, let (player's name) come over!" The player called must run to the opposite rope and avoid getting caught by Red Rover. When caught, players stay in the middle with Red Rover and try to catch another player. The game ends when everyone is caught.
Put on a
Puppet Show
You can make great puppets out of lots of things that you have in your home. Try old socks, paper bags, toilet paper rolls and paper plates taped onto sticks. Spools and buttons strung together make neat marionettes. Decorate your puppets with beads and buttons, pipe cleaners, pieces of cloth and paper scraps. Make up a puppet show about a Civil War soldier and his family, or anything you like.
Have a Parade!
Make drums by decorating empty oatmeal boxes with stars, stripes and streamers. Use wooden spoons for d rumsticks. Gather empty toilet paper rolls. Decorate them. Make a kazoo by covering one end with wax paper. Put a rubber band around the wax paper to hold it tight. Use a pencil to poke a small hole in the tube, near the wax paper. Put the open end in your mouth and hum a patriotic tune, like, "Yankee Doodle Dandy" or "The Star Spangled Banner."
Kids Calendar
Paint Your Summer Face
May 26 & 27 (2:30pm)-Say "hi" to summer by decorating yourself w/sunhiny face painting designs. All ages @ Zany Brainy, Annapolis Harbor Center: 410/266-1447.
Gone Fishin'
Sun. May 27 (register 9:30am; fish 10-1)-Catch fish and win lots of great prizes at the 6th Annual Kids' Fishing Derby. Bring your own gear or borrow some when you get to the fishin' hole. Ages 16 & under @ Smallwood State Park, La Plata: 301/743-7613.
Learn Cloud Painting
Sun. May 27 (2pm)–Kids' book author and illustrator Eileen Doran-Smith arrives to present her two books, The Cloud Painter and How the Youngest Angel Learned to Fly. Learn about Raphael, a young angel who scribbles on Heaven's jeweled walls and golden stars before discovering he can shape clouds into art. Then create your very own cloud paintings w/a little help. All ages @ Borders, Bowie: 301/352-5560.
Dot Ladybugs
Mon. May 28 (10:30am)-Preschoolers decorate ladybugs w/lots of Do-A-Dot spots in a Zany Brainy craft workshop. Ages 3-5 @ Zany Brainy, Annapolis Harbor Center: 410/266-1447.
Write in Hunger Cures
Deadline June 1–Teens ages 15-18 can write in ideas on how to feed all the world's citizens in a writing contest hosted by the International Food Policy Research Institute. Make it anything you want - poem, essay, short story or whatever. For more info: www.ifpri.cgiar.org.
Copyright 2001
Bay Weekly
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